I have been an uncle for nearly five years. My sister Lindsay had Orin a few weeks after Alden was born. My sister Andy had my nephew Ardian a few years later. But until recently, I had no nieces. It was a pleasant, but still somewhat incomplete, version of unclehood. All that changed six months ago when my brother Alex, the last of my siblings to surrender his sanity in favor of reproduction, played his role in bringing Anna into the world. A few months later, Lindsay upped the ante by bringing a second child into her house, this time a little girl named Ilea (eye-LEE-uh). Which is to say, I’m now an uncle four times over, with a balanced pair of boys and girls.
But until yesterday, I had not had a chance to meet the little ladies. Fortunately, the planets aligned and both arrived in Chestertown for the express purpose of being squeezed by me.
Here’s my sister Lindsay with little Ilea.
It was so good to hold a tiny baby again.
Ilea is sweet and low-key. She rolls with the flow and she takes long naps.
The challenge was resisting the temptation to eat her for lunch.
And here is little Anna. My brother Alex was not available for photographs because he is in Afghanistan, with plans to return for good in October.
Which makes me glad, because this little girl is so wonderful. Those of you who know Alex will probably see his expression in her eyes. She also seems to share his humor.
Even though I’ve been through the first year of life three times now, I had forgotten the striking differences between three months and six. Here, my brother in law Casey and I model our respective babies, me standing in as Alex’s proxy for the time being.
Alden insisted on joining the fun. She warmed up by holding Ilea, who seemed to enjoy the experience slightly less than Alden did.
After perfecting her technique, Alden increased the degree of difficulty and still impressed the judges.
She concluded her tour of elder cousinhood by attempting the technically challenging double hug, which seemed to suit the little ladies just fine.
Kato paid brief tribute, but quickly moved on to the back deck. Apparently, cousins who drool on themselves were less compelling than the one who can ride a trike at breakneck speed.
Suddenly, the next generation is seven strong. And I’d be surprised if there weren’t a few more members of the fold before all is said and done.